Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa September 2015 | Page 48

COMMERCIAL Interview with Adrian Maserow A drian Maserow is the award winning owner of AMA Architects, a design studio based in Johannesburg and focusing on Commercial, Residential, Retail and Industrial designs What is your design philosophy? Our greatest efforts must be seen to integrate the artistic with the pragmatic aspects of environmental design and at the heart of this is the human being for whom we design our buildings – the end user and the community for whom the project is focused on is the key to each winning building. We design spaces that inspire wonder as architecture embraces the world as a public art. What design features and efficiencies do you focus on? We like to use a spatial intelligence that brings to the design moment a clear and magic-like expression of the projects genesis. We value the qualities of architecture that are both authentic and enduring as it helps us discriminate between what is actual and illusory, significant and trivial, natural and artificial. What architectural principles and values do you focus on bringing to a property? At the heart of each design is the experience of the building and its design poetic that expresses the elevated principles of being an architect. As professionals we are the products of social contracts between specialists and society, and it is incumbent that we separate the stylists and brand imitators from those who seek to help society in the quest for betterment Do you regularly integrate low or no cost sustainable design strategies into projects? Absolutely – we’ve been recipients of SAPOA’s overall 46 SEPTEMBER 2015 SA Real Estate Investor green building award for our refurbishment of the lakeside offices that relied on the reuse of an existing structure which was a speculative development in its day & with that in mind we achieved a high end state of the art office building with beautiful finishes and a spatial uniqueness Are green features a consideration and if so what kind of features? Efficient ratios of performance glazing and responsive facades that work with each unique orientation plus high end insulation low energy electricity usage initiatives photovoltaic supplementary energy sources and efficient water heating plus ample fresh air make healthy living buildings our optimum goal What do you consider to be your most significant or professional achievement and what insights can you share from the experience? Being at the forefront of respected commercial residential industrial and retail design development is a privilege that our group values most so that we can promote this broad range of building design with insight and market savvy What is your vision for the company into the future? Any exciting projects coming up? Our most exciting endeavor at the moment involves mixed-use development that bridges high tec